The Orb of Life (DP3 Wiki Tournament)
Almost Alone Another day has begun. Another sad, exhausting day of life in the desert. Though it was early in the day, the sun was already high in the sky, a side effect of living in the desert. I haven't always lived in the desert. Once, I was fortunate to be homeless in a town. Much before that, I was even more fortunate, having two loving parents and a home to live in. But that time is done, no more. My parents died by the hands of an unknown marauder, leaving me orphaned. I was almost alone, but not totally alone. I had my older brother, Regyurābōi, Regyu for short. We lived on the streets after that, as our home was taken by our town's king to be demolished. We managed to live by stealing and begging for about eleven years. Yet our village succumbed to invaders, so we were forced to flee in order to avoid being enslaved. I sat there, laying on my mat in my tent, trying to see how long I would be able to avoid the day's hike. If I was lucky, I could lay there for a few more hours, out of the insane heat outside. No such luck. "Kuron, you awake?" asked my brother. Kuron is my shortened name, like Regyu is for Regyurābōi. My full name is Kurōnbōi. "Yeah, Regyu. I'll be right out," I sighed. I stood up and brushed the sand from my clothes. My clothes are more like rags, though. They are littered with holes and have many stains. They smelled rancid. It's not surprising, considering this is my fifth pair of clothes in my lifetime. These were hand-me-downs from Regyu. I then proceeded to make my hair, or at least try to. My hair is always stiff and dirt coated. I was then ready. I stepped out and squinted in the bright, burning light of the sun. It would burn, but I had grown accustomed to it. This would mark the end of the third month in this desert. I reached my hand into my tent and yanked the main pole from the Earth. The tent collapsed, and I rolled it up and stuffed it in my backpack. "I'm ready, Regyu," I said. "Good, let's get going. I fell that we'll be out of this desert soon," he said. "Yeah right. We've been walking through here for months, and we haven't even caught sight of this so-called holy land. Do you think it even exists?" I asked my brother. "It has to. We've gotten so far, there has to be something at the other end of this desert." "Yeah, something like a giant mountain," I grumbled. "Let's just get moving," sighed Regyu. He obviously didn't like our chances, either. We continued walking across the desert for many hours, and just as we were about to pass out from exhaustion, I saw something deep in the distance. "Hey, Regyu. Is that a... tower?" I asked my brother. He squinted and saw what I was looking at. "Y-Yeah, but, how can a tower get that high?" he asked. The tower was long and lean, and reached way higher into the sky than we could see. "I don't know, but look at the area around the tower. Is that a forest?" I asked. "Wait, yeah! It is! Maybe that's the holy land!" exclaimed Regyu. "Well what are we waiting for, then? Let's hurry!" I rejoiced. Finally, something other than the scorching hot desert and blistering sun. There was a forest, a large one at that. I didn't know about the tower, but anything other than this looked inviting at this point. We ran as fast as our aching limbs could carry us, until we finally made it to the forest. Almost instantly, the heat dropped and we were greeted by a nice, cool breeze. "It's like paradise," I said. We kept walking until we came to the base of the tower-like structure. I looked up, but I still couldn't see the top. "How high up does it go?" asked Regyu. "I'm not sure. It could probably reach all the way up to the moon," I replied. "Well, we should set up camp. The sun is about to go down," said Regyu. We set back up our tents and fell asleep for the night. The Holy Land of Korin In the morning, Regyu and I decided to look around the holy land. The land was immense, with mountain and desert bordering it on every side. The land was filled with animals, all of them herbivores, yet oddly enough, no people. No people must have ever reached the holy land before. After exploring, we decided to set up a permanent camp. There was no safe way to leave this place, so we'd have to make the best of it. We found a good spot near a stream with a good view of the tower. It was here that Regyu and I camped for an almost immeasurable amount of months. Yet one day, a new face made itself apparent to us. "Hello, who are you two boys?" asked a bright white cat with a cane. "Oh, um, I'm Kuron, and this is my brother Regyu," I said, startled that it could talk. "My name is Korin. I am one of the greatest martial arts masters of all time, and I'm the owner of this land and tower," said Korin. "Oh, we're not intruding or anything, sir, are we?" asked Regyu. "Not at all, not at all. I knew you were here the whole time," said Korin. "You knew?" I asked. "Yes. I can see all from my tower," replied Korin. "Oh, um, what are you doing down here, then, Master Korin?" I asked. "I am collecting my Senzu Beans, which are magical beans. They are the crop of this land," answered Korin. "Okay, so, what is at the top of this tower?" I asked. "Just a small room that is my home. It leads down a long flight of stairs to the bottom here," said Korin. "Sounds very lonely," I said. "I can manage. Well, see you boys around!" said the cat. "W-Wait!" I stammered. "We kinda wanted to know if we could, um, stay with you?" "Sorry, that would be crossing the line. Only my pupils come to the top of my tower, and to do so they have to actually climb it," said Korin. "C-Climb it?! But just how tall is it?!" I asked. "You'll just have to figure that out on your own. Well, so long, boys," called Korin. Out of nowhere, a giant flying cloud appeared. He jumped on it and the cloud carried him into the sky high above. The rest of the day was pretty average. We hammed it up and made a small hut for us to rejuvenate in. Weeks went by, and we still lived in our tiny little shelter, living off the rich land. Then, one day, I finally had the nerve to ask my brother the question I'd been waiting to ever since our encounter with Master Korin. "Regyu?" "Yeah?" "Do you think that we'll ever get to the top of that tower?" "I don't know, we've only been here for a month or so, and we still haven't seen the top of the tower from this level, and the sky's been crystal clear," replied Regyu. "Well, wouldn't it be neat to try?" I asked. "One day, maybe, but I doubt we'd be able to get that high up," said Regyu. "Okay then, good night," I said, drifting off into sleep. Scaling the Tower Afterwards, we continued our normal life in the holy land. We didn't mention climbing the tower, but wouldn't it be great if we did? Finally, I brought it up again, and Regyu said that we should try. Starting tomorrow, we would begin training to scale the Tower of Korin. It was a task that would take many, many years, but finally, we were ready. Eight years had passed now, and today we'd begin the long ascent to the top of Korin's Tower. Category:DP3 Category:Fan Fiction Category:Wiki Tournament